In depth and mini reviews of movies with a sprinkling of nostalgia and film music musings.

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Spice and Wolf – Season One (2008)

Introduction:

When it comes to fantasy
anime, you have a set of tropes that usually come into play. Sure the setting
may be medieval inspired (European or Japanese) but at some point laser guns
and robots will appear. Someone will end up wielding a sword at least as big as
they are (usually larger). And if there are elves in the story they will have
super long pointed ears. But this anime goes in a much different direction.

Summary:

Kraft Lawrence (Jun
Fukuyama) is a smalltime peddler in this medieval land. He usually barters his
goods for ones with greater value and then obtains surprising amounts of profit
for his long travels. One day he stops in a familiar village as they are
wrapping up their harvest festival. Before the church really spread this
village worshiped a wolf goddess who would favor them with wondrous harvests.
These days the folks of the town go through the motions, not really believing,
but not willing to anger the goddess.

Good idea, because Holo (Ami
Koshimizu) is still around. This long-lived wolf goddess has gotten bored with
the little town and decides to take up the peddler’s life. She transforms into
the guise of a young woman and teams up with Lawrence, much to his chagrin. But
the two work well together. Lawrence is business savvy and knows how to spot a
good opportunity. Holo can read people (including Lawrence) very well and uses
this to their advantage. Along the way they will encounter a currency
manipulation plot, a bad deal for armor, and Holo’s nemesis – a shepherd. In
the end will Lawrence and Holo make a profit, fall in love or maybe both?

Good Points:

Holo and Lawrence are great
characters that work well together

The laid back pacing makes
for an easy viewing experience

The conflicts that revolve
around being a merchant make for a refreshing change

Bad Points:

Some of the financial
scheming is explained very quickly and may lose some viewers

Very little action in the
series at all

Doesn’t really have an
overarching narrative, but weaves from adventure to adventure

Overall:

This series was a great
change of pace. Holo is a fun character and her interaction and banter with
Lawrence are what keep you coming back to see what happens next. Conflicts are
never very intense, but they are atypical of what you find in most fantasy
anime. The animation is quite lovely and really gives the world a unique
pastoral feel. Looking forward to returning to these characters in the second
season.

Scores
(out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting: 4

Script: 4

Music: 4

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total:4

In Depth Review

On the road for fun and profit.

I heard about Spice and Wolf when it first made it to
DVD nearly ten years ago. It sounded like a unique and lighthearted tale that
was different from much of the fantasy anime I’d experienced. I’ve had it on my
radar since then and was pleased to see it appear on Hulu (both seasons). I
finally dove in, hoping it was able to live up to the hype.

Hype is really too strong a
word for Spice and Wolf. The series
is mellow, easy going and for the most part a story about a growing friendship
that covers 13 episodes. Yes there are some intense moments in the story, and
the world the characters inhabit can be dangerous. But for the most part this
series travels along the road slowly but letting the viewer take in the
atmosphere and the relationship it is building.

The focus to the series is
the two main characters. Lawrence is a pragmatic man with a keen eye for
details and the ability to see how these details can be exploited to his
financial advantage. But he is not without feelings. In fact his empathy get
the pair in trouble, and Holo accuses him of being too kind hearted. Lawrence
is obviously taken with Holo, but knows full well that this is some kind of immortal
being he is dealing with. The way he attempts to navigate their growing
relationship is charming and amusing. He makes the perfect straight man for the
more mercurial goddess.

But the wolf of Spice and Wolf, isn’t your typical over
the top anime girlfriend. This is a creature that is hundreds (or thousands) of
years old. While she looks like a young woman her experience and keen senses
give her advantages over the “youngsters” around her. But she is still the
spirit of a wolf, and as such sometimes those instincts overpower her more
human aspects. So when she finds something she enjoys eating, apples for
example, she will just keep eating and eating them until she makes herself sick.
She can be greedy. Other times she can take offense to seemingly minor issues.
But she will often toy with Lawrence, teasing him with performances as an ideal
partner, before mocking how gullible he is. But through it all, we see how
lonely she has become and how much she appreciates Lawrence. By the time we hit
episode 13 the two really understand each other and it is great to have that
kind of character evolution.

Lawrence is just a nice guy in a love trianglewith a wolf and capitalism.

The other interesting
element of the series is the world created in Spice and Wolf. Modeled after medieval Europe before gunpowder was
introduced, we have a society in the grip of a powerful monotheistic church.
There are trade guilds that wield power over merchants. We see how different
kingdoms use different coins (with varying weights) and how this impacts trade
as well as currency schemes when one king tries to obtain financial power over
others. The world feels like a real place because of these details. But I also
enjoy the art style, especially in the open road where we see the lovely
countryside or the ominous mountains that loom above the characters. While this
isn’t top tier animation, it works very well in the context of the show.

He should have known that a shepherd would cause aproblem for his wolf.

I watched the series in
Japanese and most of the cast was very good. Koshimizu makes Holo very
appealing and does a great job with a character with so many facets. Fukuyama
matches her with his even approach to Lawrence. You can’t help but smile when
he gets annoyed or befuddled by Holo’s latest scheme.

I enjoyed the score to the
series. It keeps mostly in a medieval style with some lovely a cappella vocals
taking over at key moments. It works well in context and adds to the atmosphere
of the show. I also like both the songs used in the credits. Tabi no Tochu performed by Natsumi
Kiyoura is a melodic piece that sets the opening mood. The Wolf Whistling Song is a cute jaunty tune performed by Rocky
Chack. It has charming lyrics and works well with the end credit animation.

"Does this bother you? I'm totally touching you."

On some level I can’t
imagine Spice and Wolf working. It
seems at times too simplistic in concept or too obscure in execution to really
gel. But it does. Part of it is the way the relationship builds over the course
of the episodes. The series was constructed with a keen eye to making it all
flow together, even if there isn’t a real antagonist for the whole series.
Instead you get mini-adventures that last a few episodes. This gives us enough
time to hang out with Holo and Lawrence. The characters are the focus and
because they are so well realized it brings you back for more.

An atypical anime for me,
and miles away from something like Log Horizon
or Attack on Titan, but shows that
fantasy stories can take many shapes and be uniquely entertaining. In some
circles Spice and Wolf is considered
a classic, I can see why. I’m looking forward to the second season and where it
takes our two entrepreneurs.

4 comments:

Good review, but I can hardly watch this stuff anymore. I find it too clichéd for the most part (mostly all the exposition a lot of the characters go into ie. stares into the distance and relates some past story or whatever), and also gets to be to cutesy for my taste, which is not to say I can't appreciate some older anime I still enjoy.

Yeah this one is certainly an acquired taste. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but because it was so different from the fantasy anime I've seen in the past. It does hinge more on the romance angle, and when you look at it in that way, it does follow some of the medium's cliches in that genre. But overall, it did enough stuff differently and well, that I enjoyed it quite a bit. The characters really make the series.

But yeah the backstory moments in series can be a bit much. A lot of times, less is more. But I get the feeling that the writers are so enamored with the characters backstory that they end up going in the direction of over explaining.

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I'm a writer who loves movies, books, video games and music. Wow, that's pretty generic eh? Been a staff writer for DVD Verdict.com and animeondvd.com. I worked at a video store for nearly 10 years. Still working on genre fiction both short and novel length.